EU rebukes Turkish PM Erdogan over judicial crackdown

Europe’s top officials yesterday told Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, that moves to control his country’s judiciary were endangering his country’s prospects of joining the EU, but he rejected the criticism and blamed his troubles on “enemies” of his state.

After a blunt exchange during Mr Erdogan’s first visit in more than three years to Brussels, Herman Van Rompuy, President of the EU Council, said that political reform and the rule of law were vital for progress on Turkey’s long path to EU membership. “They are two sides of the same coin. It is important not to backtrack,” he said.

Turkey’s entry negotiations, launched in 2005 after four decades of waiting, were revived in November after a three-year freeze. They they have been…